1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to attachments for cycle-type pedal-powered handle-barred vehicles and, more particularly, to an all-electronic siren-type attachment for vehicles such as bicycles, tricycles and low-slung children's tricycles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
All-electronic sirens relate to those sirens in which a variable pitch ululating audible sound is produced by first generating an audio frequency electrical carrier signal lying in the range of frequency to which the human ear is sensitive, thereupon modulating the frequency of the carrier signal, and thereupon conducting the modulated carrier signal to a loudspeaker from which the siren-type sound is emitted. These all-electronic sirens are to be distinguished from and contrasted with other type of audible signal devices well known in the art such as air whistles, mechanical horns, bells, buzzers, toy machine gun noise makers and the like, in which the audible sound is not derived from an electrical signal, but rather is derived from some form of mechanical means.
In recent years, all-electronic sirens have come into widespread acceptance in emergency-type applications such as police cars, fire engines, motor boats, ambulances and burglar and fire alarm systems. Due to the high reliability and opperability requirements of such emergency-type system applications, the associated electronic circuitry designs have proven to be complex, to require a great number of electrical components, to require a relatively large amount of working space, and to be very expensive to manufacture. In order to protect such complex and expensive sirens from theft, these electronic sirens are typically permanently installed or secreted within the associated system.
Due in part to the known complex and expensive circuit designs for such electrical sirens, it has heretofore been unknown to the best of our knowledge to install electronic sirens on cycle-type pedal-powered handle-barred vehicles, such as bicycles, tricycles, or low-slung children's tricycles. It is, of course, known to mount the above-described mechanical-type noise makers on a cycle-type vehicle. However, it is very desirable to adjustably mount at a prominent forward region of a cycle-type vehicle an all-electronic siren capable of emitting a very loud, variable pitch, ululating siren-type sound. The known arrangements for mounting mechanical-type noise makers have not proven to be altogether satisfactory, nor readily and quickly detachable from one cycle-type vehicle to thereby quickly mount the noise maker on another cycle-type vehicle.